Re: the pubs for a beer - I know the London Branch are meeting up in the Rose of Denmark chosen because the Antigallican was a right @#/? hole - its not a favorite of mine tho' - bit too pokey - But I'm bringing along a lad from work who hasn't got a ticket so I'll be in the Antigallican for a beer - just so it's less distance to walk to the ticket office & back - I'll probably meet up with the Guys in the Rose of Denmark before then.

Ossydave - I have to agree with everything you just said - I really can't understand our current crop of supporters, constantly moaning about how we are doing - even in our pitious state of play at the moment we are playing better & at a higher level than we have for over 75% of the time I have been supporting Rovers The reason we are doing so well at the moment is because of two people - Jack Walker - bought us Promotion a nice new ground & a team that would win the premiership & Souness who by good management moulded a team from nothing, that won promotion, a cup & two seasons in Europe. I'd like to be wrong but I'm sure I won't see either of these performances emulated again in my lifetime - we are a small town club that can't even sell out against Manure - what hope have we of challenging the big boys My biggest worries are that over ambition will drive us into a situation where we either sell our soul to a speculator, like David Lloyd & Hull, a PLC like Spurs or end up mortgaged up to the hilt like Leeds or Citeh - either way the club would no longer the club of the supporters, but the plaything of someone else. All I can say is enjoy Rovers playing at the highest level while you can - It's not going to last for ever & the departure of Souness says it all to me - He realised that the club is going nowhere, not with the current set of fans anyway

Yep - 1st half vs Southampton where he was particularly poor

Scotty - We were the better team by far against the Saints - two mistakes in defense were capitalised on & they cost us dear Against WBA, again I think we were the better side, esp. in the 2nd half - I'm sure Megson was a lot happier with the result than we were - I know the Baggies fans I was chatting to walking up Livsey certainly were Last season I can't comment on - I missed the whole season barring the first & last games after having major surgery on my knee

It wasn't schoolboy defending for the 3rd goal - it was a terrible back-pass from Matteo that went well wide of Nissa and in a foot race with Henry there was always going to be only one winner - an excellent save by Brad almost saved the day but noit quite The 2nd was schoolboy defending - Matteo let his man get away from him & Gilberto did the rest (well Fabregas did)

We weren't ******** last night - they were better - - it happens sometimes, you play a team and they beat you, not because you played badley, but because they were better

Paul, please don't quote Jan as if she's any authority on the Rovers performance last night - she has her own agenda & will twist the facts any way possible to further her Souness out cause... I was looking for you Jan, but never saw you I was at the game last night, & Soton & WBA and I have never heard any calls for Souness to go, not once..... Strange that most of the people calling for his head can't be bothered to turn up for the games We had an excellent first half at Arsenal, and came in the better side. Unluckily for us Lehman had an excellent first half & even more unlucky was that when Arsenal stepped up a gear we couldn't live with them - we won't be the last club that happens to this season. I will agree that we do have some failings - Matteo - I didn't like what I saw vs WBA, he was anonymous against the Saints, it's just a shame he wasn't anonymous last night - his back-pass to Nissa last night was dreadful esp since the nearest Arsenal player was Henry. But one of the failings isn't Emerton - I thought he had another good game last night, causing all kinds of problems down the right wing. Last night we weren't beaten by tactics, team selection or players that "didn't care" we were beaten by an awasome Arsenal side that were simply, in a different class - We'll do them at Ewood though

I was going to post last night when I got back from the game but decided against it after having had a few too many drowning my sorrows/frustrations So lets get the negatives out of the way first - Flitty - thanks mate and bye - you just can't cut it anymore. Matteo is no way a left winger - but after watching him vs WBA he's not much of a centre back either - I can only assume that Nissa got his place to counter the pace of Phillips & Beattie, which I think he did very well - I just wish he & Short would have talked to each other The "defence" - come on lads - ROW Z - you know it makes sense - their second goal came after too much faffing around on the ball Brad - sorry mate - come back when you're fit - Beatties penalty was made 10 times easier because you had to set off on your dive as he started his run up & every back pass placed us under pressure since you can only kick left footed, Arsenal will kill us if it's the same on Wednesday. Plus you shouldn't have been unsighted for their second - you really do need to be more mobile - nice save though fella! The Phillips goal - no way was it Emerton's fault - the mistake was both Nissa & Short challenged for the cross & missed it leaving Phillips all on his lonesome - it would have been nice if Emerton was closer in but he was torn between coming in and covering their left winger (The TV replays showed this perfectly this morning). The positives - Emerton looked to be getting more confident as the game went on - this can only be a good thing & his pull back for Dickov's goal showed his determination to get to a slightly over hit Stead pass Stead was instrumental in both Rovers goals - dragging the Soton defenders out of position to give Fergie the room to shoot & his pass through to Emerton for Dickovs Dickov - what a fantastic little player - It's a shame it doesn't look like he'll last a full 90 minutes - he just gives so much. His battle with Le Sulk yesterday was fantastic & he pushed it just enough to unsettle him without getting booked, I did think he was going to walk when he had Beattie round the throat tho' & should have had a pen when he was wrestled to the ground just after his goal. Barring the mix up for the first goal & the lapse in concentration for the second I thought the defence had a good game especially once Neill came on in the second half. Michael Gray - he just looks better & better all the time The rest..... I thought pretty much everyone else had fairly decent games, tho' what Ferguson was doing kicking the ball away especially having already been booked - we need both him & Tugay running the midfield and can't afford the inevitable suspension that will result from it - no Fergie means Flitcroft will start & the Ref - I can't really add any more to what has been said already D'Urso is a disgrace, not just for the penalty but also the fact he intercepted more of our crosses than any of their defenders. Ah Well! roll on Wednesday when we stop the mighty Arsenal in their tracks :)Anyone up for a drink before the game - I'll be in the Alwyne Castle Pub, St Pauls Road N1 2LY - near Highbury & Islington Tube

Nice to see so many destructive posts from people who weren't even at the game - You are all correct Souness got it wrong in the first half - I'm sure even he will put his hands up to that - but once he could make changes, he did so & we dominated the second half with West brom left only with scraps. But even saying that he got it wrong in the first half betrays the fact that none of the players had a particularly poor game and the way I saw it his only real mistake was playing Brad, where a fully fit Enkleman would have probably stopped Clements deflected free kick

A letter in the Metro (London Freebie) this morning claims that the first incident of footbal hooliganism recorded was in 1883 when a bunch of northerners terrorised the locals of Kennington at the Cup Final at the Oval. And the northerners were.... Blackburn Olympic. So all of this is our fault...........nearly

Rumour has it that Arsen Wenger is looking at buying Gerrard for next season, apparently he's very impressed with his link-up play with Henry.

Yep - but it's turned into a poncy Wine Bar - The london Hospital Tavern across the road a a fairly decent pub - unmissable in its Tiger Stripe paint job.

On Reuters this moning 08:22 16Jan2004 RTRS-Bid hopes send UK soccer club Leeds' shares soaring LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Shares in English soccer club Leeds United Plc <LUFC.L> soared on Friday on renewed hopes that an Arab sheikh would buy the club, enabling it to stave off the threat of administration. The Mirror newspaper said that Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa has raised 35 million pounds ($65 million) to buy the club and invest a substantial sum in new players. Leeds shares were up 1.25 pence, or 40 percent, at 4.375 pence in early morning trade, giving it a stock market value of around 15 million pounds. Leeds is struggling under debts of around 80 million pounds and faces a deadline of January 19 to strike a deal to avoid entering administration. £35 Million only scratches the surface of the debt, but if he can make a deal with the bond holders they they may escape

On Radio 5 last night an analyst really only gave one option to Leeds and that was administration. This in itself doesn't seem to give the much hope either, as apart from the 10 point deduction that the FA/League have decided to impose on clubs in administration there is also the thorny issue of who has first dibs on the money. Renegotiation of their debts will probably prove to be difficult with Leeds owing a reputed 8 million quid to the Inland Revenue, a department not normally known for their sympathetic attitude to Footie clubs in trouble. The American bond holders will want their share of the gate receipts and the fact that the FA insist that precedence is given to other footie interests will not please the other parties - this is going to run & run & I can't see Leeds getting out of it. Take note all those who want to mortgage Rovers to the hilt to buy success - the risks are massive & the rewards aren't.

This is now getting tedious - It's the same old empty vessels ringing out their tried & trusted mantra of Souness Out - Nice one guys, you don't like Souness - to be honest would you like anyone inb charge when in our position - No! so give it a rest as things are a lot more complex than just "Souness is a rubbish manager".

No statement, just a personal view - If I'd been any good at football no doubt I'd have enjoyed playing that as well - but as far as the fat oaf comparison goes, if you want to frame it in sweeping generalisations, you get a lot more of them playing football than rugby just because of the mass appeal of the game - Paul Gasgione springs to mind in the professional game.

In defense of Rugby, it a game that's not populated by a bunch of prancing, overpaid prima-donnas who would rather spend half the game writhing on the deck trying to get fellow professionals sent off than play the game. I've played the game for the last 25 years and it's a hell of a lot more fun to play than football, especially if you're my size That said I'd still prefer to watch the Rovers playing football than England playing Rugby. Mind you if it was a toss up between England Rugby & England football then the Rugby wins hands down every time.